In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1714209/

Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut is set during the Bosnian war and depicts an unusual love story that occurs during a horrific period. The story begins in 1992 where we see Danijel (Goran Kostic) a handsome policeman on a date with beautiful Ajla (Zana Marjanovic). Their dancing and flirtations are brought to a swift end by a bomb attack and soon Danijel is a Serb soldier in the war and Ajla lives in fear of what may happen next as she is a Bosnian Muslim. Soon the worst happens and Ajla is captured and taken to an internment camp where the women have to serve the soldiers, rape and torture a daily occurrence. Danijel is a captain at the camp and soon the two meet again. What follows is their tumultuous and ambiguous relationship that they fall into and how the war is seen from both points of view up until 1995.
It is fairly obvious to say that this is not easy viewing by any means due to the subject matter, and Jolie doesn’t hold back on the horrific and shocking acts that occur during war. It features a scene with an act that is so appalling I will remember it for a long time, but you never actually see the act, your imagination creating something much more horrific. There is a rape scene that we are shown unsparingly though. But this film is not all shock tactics, the love story at the centre of it is intriguing and unpredictable, the characters complex and the situation devastating. This is a conflict I know little about even though it happened in my lifetime so I can immediately see what drew Jolie to set a story during this time. The statistics are shocking and this film is educational and haunting.
Apparently a lot of the cast are real life survivors from the war and actors from the former Yugoslavia speaking their language, rather than doing it in English, which gives the film a much more authentic feel and shows Jolie’s determination to produce something that is accurate and believable. The story is of local people rather than American or English people and the perspectives shown are fascinating, we never quite know if people have ulterior motives or how genuine they really are. The acting, particularly from the two main leads, is tremendous and the casting of Ajla and Danijal is commendable.
There are some nice techniques employed throughout the film, the film never becoming style over substance but there is enough creativity within it to make it visually memorable. A scene where the soldiers are using the women as shields as they close in on rebels is emphasised with the use of slow motion but just fleetingly. Techniques are restrained and used effectively. This is a powerful story with well written characters that whilst morally ambiguous are likeable and watchable. The ethnic cleansing at the centre of this and the way it is depicted echoes the Second World War and the atrocities of this war are just as horrific.
In the Land of Blood and Honey is not really a film to enjoy per se, but it is a film I was drawn into immediately and whilst the subject matter is dark I would definitely watch it again. The love story is never predictable but there are elements in the film that feel slightly familiar, the character of Danijel is particularly reminiscent of Ralph Fiennes’ Goeth in Schindler’s List (1993) but a much more diluted version, his facial features and expressions in particular remind one of Fiennes.
Overall this is a strong first film for Jolie and I would look forward to any future directorial work from her. This is a poignant and informative film covering a conflict that many of us know little about with an engaging and unusual love story at the centre.